Chapter 77 Braised Crayfish (Part 1)
The beavers were full of admiration and clapped their little paws. A beaver wearing a bow on its head even brought a reed basket and signaled Jiangyou to put the shrimps in it.
"...If you use this to hold shrimp, they'll probably run away, right?" Jiang You looked at the basket and gestured, "It could be used to make a shrimp trap, but... By the way, do you have a wooden barrel?"
Loris helped translate, and several beavers nodded vigorously. Then Mr. Beaver patted a medium-sized tree, as if to say, "This one is very good."
The three beavers rushed forward like a whirlwind, and it was like a small tornado blowing around the tree. A moment later, the tree fell to one side, and a wooden barrel made of natural wood appeared on the stump.
"That's amazing!" Aunt Wolf exclaimed.
Jiangyou went over to try out the barrel and found it to be the perfect size and thickness, even having a wooden handle. She happily tossed the lobster into the barrel and said, "It's not that difficult!"
The beavers looked at her with admiration, as if they were looking at a skeleton god.
With Jiangyou taking the lead in demonstrating, Andre and the others couldn't help but give it a try. But when they actually tried it, they found that catching shrimps was not such an easy task.
The magic crayfish has two main ways of attack. One is its powerful claws that can easily break branches, and the other is the wind blades it spews out of its mouth.
Being caught in the claws is no fun; at best, you'll suffer bruises and skin breakage, while at worst, you'll lose a limb and a chunk of flesh. A closer look reveals that many beavers have dents and wounds that are gradually healing, indicating they've been severely injured by these claws.
However, Takumi was very skilled, always using a branch to clamp the lobster's head close to its body from behind. The lobster's giant claws can only strike diagonally in front of its mouth, unable to strike the back of its head, which is a blind spot. Even if the lobster accidentally gets caught in the branch, it's not painful at all, and you can just change the branch and try again.
As for the wind blades, they were a perfect counter to each other, and the crayfishes collided right with the lich's spear. As a lich, whenever the crayfishes began to cast a bar to gather wind energy, Jiangyou could sense it, and with a single press, he unleashed the crayfishes' wind blades into the mud, transforming them into bubbles that exploded one after another in the muddy puddle.
Shrimp: ...So angry.
The wind blade magic of the lobsters is a long spell that takes a reading time. After releasing it, the lobsters will be half exhausted and can only stay in the wooden barrel to recuperate.
Andrei soon figured out the trick. The Kingdom Knights were also very experienced in identifying the signs of charging big moves. One man and one skeleton filled a large bucket in one go, while the remaining two people and one wolf were just playing around, occasionally shouting "ouch" and jumping a few times, having a lot of fun.
"Let's cook these shrimps first." Jiang You looked at the bucket full of shrimps and said greedily, "If they really taste like crayfish, I'll catch all the shrimps here."
She asked Lolisa, "These beavers should have no objection, right?"
More than just no objections, the beavers practically regarded Takuyou as a god who had come to save them, with tears of admiration gleaming in each of Heidou's eyes. It was clear these vegetarian beavers had long suffered from crayfish.
Jiangyou asked them for a few reed baskets, and asked Aunt Wolf for some dried meat and dry bread. He tore them into pieces and threw some into the baskets. Then he tied the baskets with vines and sank them into the lake, waiting for the crayfish to take the bait.
She had the knight and his servant keep an eye on the simple prawn cages, occasionally fishing in the water to check on their catch. She found a clearing, pulled out a miniature portable magic stove, a wok, and all the necessary ingredients from her skull, and began cooking the prawns.
Andre, who witnessed everything, asked: "Are there more and more strange things in your little head?"
Takumi: “Hey!”
She smiled brightly, used water magic to scrub the magic lobster clean, used purification magic to sterilize it, then took out a pair of small scissors to cut off the front end of the shrimp head and remove the shrimp stomach and other dirt. Then she just grabbed the shrimp's tail and twisted and pulled it, easily pulling out the entire shrimp thread.
The skeleton's movements were quick and agile. A few minutes later, a large bucket of clean lobsters with the shrimp threads removed was placed next to the stove, waiting to be put into the pot.
Jiangyou first heated the oil pan, and while the oil temperature was high, he fried the shrimps first. This way, the shrimp meat would remain firm and chewy even after the shrimp thread was removed.
The fried lobsters were placed on a large log plate provided by the beavers. Jiangyou then took out a few cloves of garlic and smashed them into minced garlic. He then put them into the pot together with star anise, bay leaves, and ginger slices and fried them until fragrant.
There are many ways to cook crayfish, such as spicy, garlic, thirteen spices, braised in oil, steamed... If you want to say which way Jiangyou likes best, it is simply braising it with soy sauce. It does not require too many seasonings, and you can taste the sweetness of the shrimp meat and the delicious golden roe.
Of course, as a heart patient in her previous life, she was forbidden to eat greasy and high-salt foods. She could only taste them very occasionally when cooking for her family to satisfy her appetite.
Although cheating is not wrong, in Jiangyou's opinion, if you can't have any happiness, what's the difference between that and being dead?
In fact, in her brief past life, Jiang You hadn't needed to rest in bed constantly. No, no, she was simply weaker than the average person, prone to shortness of breath. She couldn't tolerate large emotional fluctuations, couldn't be overly frightened, and couldn't do heavy work. Heart patients needed rest, but they couldn't be too idle, and they couldn't let complete inactivity weaken them...
So, with her family's encouragement, Jiangyou learned to cook. She took care of the family's meals, and in her free time, she'd research recipes, tinker with homemade wine, pickle vegetables, and even, on her best days, knead pancakes and bake bread. As for secretly tasting the dishes before they were served, isn't that a normal chef's perk? What chef doesn't taste their food?
Unexpectedly, the culinary skills she'd acquired in her past life to (secretly) satisfy her palate would become her lifeline after death. As expected, "opportunities favor those who are prepared." With the right skills, you can travel the world without worry!
As Jiang You pondered this, she dumped the lobsters into the pot. She simply mixed a sauce with soy sauce, maltose, and salt, poured it over the lobsters, stirred it a few times with a large spoon, covered it, and simmered it for a while.
Since this was a field test, Jiangyou didn't plan to use too many seasonings. Thirteen spices and minced garlic are delicious, but if the spices overpower the shrimp's flavor, how can you tell the quality of the ingredients? This method is simple and brings out the flavors of the soy sauce and shrimp. The taste is obvious once you taste it.
When Andre and Jericho came over each carrying a bucket of freshly caught shrimp, Jiangyou just opened the lid of the pot. The steaming hot air brought out the tempting aroma. The bright red crayfish coated in brown sauce looked extremely tempting.
Andre couldn't help swallowing a few times and asked, "How do I eat this?"
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